


暗闇 Kurayami (Darkness)

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Japan Queen, Kidnapping, Rog and Bri are abducted by crazy fans, Some freaked out Freddie, Some scared Roger, Worry, some hurt Brian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-10-17 21:18:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: Japan, mid-70s.Two young girls have been years living on the hope of not just meeting Queen, but keeping them in their lives.They manage to get Roger and Brian.Angst, h/c, fear.





	1. Chapter 1

When Roger came to, he could see nothing, only darkness. It took him a while to fully wake up, his body complaining and sore the whole time. Why did his head hurt like that? Where on Earth was he? Why did everything hurt so much, why couldn't he see, WHY COULDN'T HE MOVE? He started breathing too quickly, trying to move up his hands, his legs, something. There was something wrong with this whole situation, he knew.

As he became more aware, he realised some thing: he was sitting on an oddly comfy chair, but he had been blindfolded and his hands were tied behind his back, with something soft, like silk. He tried to undo it, moved frantically trying to free himself, but it was impossible. Everything was too tight.

“HELP!” He screamed, out of instinct. “Somebody! Help!”

“... Rog?” A familiar voice said behind him, but sounded all broken and wrong. He knew who that was.

“Brian? What happened? Where are we? Can you see anything?”

Maybe Brian knew, maybe Brian would be better at untying himself, maybe this was a crazy prank that had gone too far, some surprise, something....

“I don't... I can't see... Someone put... put a blindfold on me... Can't...move...”

So, Brian was in the same situation as him.

“You're on a chair too?”

“Yeah....You... ok?”

Roger half smiled, despite himself. Typical Brian, looking out for other even when he himself was in danger.

“Well, I'm a bit scared, I'll be honest. What about you, Bri? You sound terrible.”

There was a pause, and Roger's heart did a painful flip. God, it was horrible not to see. But then there was the familiar voice again:

“M'head hurts...I think... they knocked me out...”

Roger tried to think back to the last thing he could remember before waking up here. He had gone out of his dressing room for a smoke and for some fresh air when somebody... a shadow... there was a rag in his mouth and and a strong penetrating smell, and then... Nothing but darkness.

“You think we've been kidnapped?” Roger asked. “Because Freddie and the others will pay the money if we are, I know. Maybe the police is already coming here. I mean, I'm sure everyone's noticed by now that we're missing.”

He tried to sound positive. Brian didn't sound completely there, and they both needed some positivity.

“... Maybe... but... the others... it's strange... to take just us....”

“You think maybe the others have also been kidnapped?”

Well, that was a horrible thought. Who the hell was going to pay their ransom if they were all kidnapped? Their families? They didn't have that kind of money! The label? They couldn't trust them to care enough to pay millions, probably. No, the others had to be okay, and he just had to focus on the now. He tried to untie his bonds, again.

They weren't ropes, they were just....neckerchiefs or something of the sort. They should've been easy to undo, but these Japanese people were thorough and meticulous in their technique for everything, even in tying your kidnappees' hands to their back. Maybe it was him who was being clumsy, too. But he was agile with his hands, dammit, there had to be something... Trying to undo the ties on his legs was even more impossible, so he didn't even try.

“Hey, can you do something about your ties? I can't even loosen them a bit, but there has to be a way... Bri? Bri!”

Brian was the only connection he had to world outside of that darkness, he needed him! His voice was the only ally he had, the only thing that told him he wasn't completely alone with who knew what kind of psychos...

“Don't... scream...” Came the soft voice again.

“Jeez, Brian, how hard did they hit you in the head?” Roger asked, worried.

“I really... I need to throw up, Rog... I... I can't...”

BAD. BAD. BAD.

This was all so very bad. They had been taken by who knew who, he had no idea of where they were or how to alert the others, trying to undo his ties was only earning him red raw skin and wounds on his wrists and now Brian could have a serious head injury.

“You hang on, you hear me? It's bad to fall asleep with a head injury.” Roger remembered enough of his studies (and of dates with medical students) to know that if Brian passed out bad things could happen. He also had a bad feeling about the fact they'd taken two people at the same time... What if this was one of those I'll kill one of them to show you I'm serious situations? He really didn't want to die, but the thought of Brian dying... He was tearing up. “Bri?”

“I don't... I don't know if I... can...”

“Do it for me, please. Don't leave me here alone.”

Alone in this darkness.

*

“What do you mean there's nothing more you can do??” Freddie was yelling at everyone around him, freaking out. “There has to be something! More police! More questioning! Anything! Someone attacked John and meant to take him who knows where, my bodyguard is in the hospital, Roger has completely vanished and there was blood on Brian's hotel room. And you're telling me to calm myself down! This is a goddamned emergency! A national crisis! Surely there's more you can do than that.”

He was losing it. He was absolutely losing it. It had been after a concert and someone had tried to take him. But someone, whoever they were, weren't very professional and his bodyguard had taken the many blows that the aggressors, wearing only black and some ski masks, used to escape. It was scary, and Freddie had been hoping that would the only awful story of the night, something he could discuss with the others while hugging them for comfort. But that was not a possibility.

When he found John he was being looked after by a medic, with a spooked, shaken expression. His story was the same, more or less: two men, ski masks, trying to take him somewhere else... But John had his bass nearby and hit one of the men in the head with it, with force, and then they both run off. Really didn't seem like very professional criminals.

When they went to warn Brian and Roger, give them some round-the-clock security detail... They were gone. There was absolutely no trace of Roger in his room or anywhere. Most of his things were still there, his jackets, his drumsticks, everything, but he was gone. There was only one cigarette missing from a packet. And they had no clue of where he might be, but it was quite clear that those ski masks men were the guilty party. They had finally succeeded... And who knew what they might be doing to poor Roger right now. Freddie shivered with his full body, trying to keep the tears at bay.

But they flowed freely when they got to Brian's room and found only too much blood and traces someone being carried out through the fire escape. And if that blood was the attacker's then Brian would sill be here, or in some hospital, telling them that he had the scariest encounter... But he was nowhere to be found. Because whoever those people were hadn't had just taken Brian, they had hurt him too. Now it was a race against time to find him. And to find Roger.

Half of Queen was missing and the only lead they had was blood on the floor.

*

Naoko and Mei were fuming. Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to. They had everything prepared, their whole little prison world where they would be happy with their beloved Queen... And it had all gone wrong.

“You weren't supposed to hurt any of them!”

“He would have escaped! Like the others!”

They had hired some foreigners because apparently they were professionals, but they only brought half of what they promised, and one of them was bleeding.

“But we got the blond one all right! That was who you wanted the most, right?”

That had been the one good thing. Roger Taylor was in their home, under their power and they could do anything they wanted with him. Maybe they could even use Brian's injury to their advantage, and promise Roger that if he complied with their wishes they would release his friend so he'd be looked after. Yeah, that could work.

Just for a couple days, until they were happy... Or maybe a couple of weeks... Or a couple of months... They had supplies and covers for a very long time, so that was not a issue.

They smiled as the looked through the glass to the men on the chairs. Their idols, their loves, their stars. It was the two of them who had them now, and while they were tied and couldn't see, it was them who had the upper hand. And they were going to enjoy them... So much.

*

Roger desperately called for help, not knowing he was in a basement.

No one was coming, not even a kidnapper to make him pose with a newspaper or something.

The darkness was beginning to become oppressive, overpowering. He couldn't handle it anymore, and Brian was having more trouble to stay awake and was slurring his words and....

“HELP!”

But it wasn't help that was coming.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Naoko and Mei had met years before, in the painting academy. They had been tired of their overworked lives (all the schoolwork, all the extracurricular work, all the very many chores and duties they were supposed to complete in utter perfection) and bonded over how much they loved Queen. While their lives were a constant succession of rules and more rules, jobs they were to do, assignments and information to learn.

But Queen... They took pride in bending and breaking the rules, they dressed like they wanted, combining impossible colours, showing too much skin, playing rock and roll like it was literally the only important aspect of their lives. Queen were absolute different to everything else in their lives, and listening to their music was the only times when they felt a bit free from the oppressive life they seemed to be trapped in forever.

And Roger Taylor... he was the most beautiful man they had ever seen in their lives, so much that they had trouble to even believe he was real. He would make all their fantasies come true. Naoko and Mei projected all their dreams of love and lust into this stranger, who was going to make them happy, give them everything they wanted. Roger Taylor would treat them right.

But deep down, they knew what would happen: Queen would come in tour, and they would only get to wave and see them up in the stage, in the concert. Then they would go back to England, and Naoko and Mei would have to go back to their dull lives, without ever getting to touch the sweet soft hair of Roger Taylor. And it was too unfair, wasn't it? To just see their idols in passing, to never get to even speak to them.

They had learned English for them, looked for clothes similar to the ones they wore onstage... No, Queen were too important for them to just by and never meet their greatest fans. They needed a plan, and soon they had one. Naoko's family had an abandoned former factory in the outskirts, far away from any prying eyes. That would were they held him. They rehabilitated the place a bit, baptized it “the love nest”. Oh, the things they would do with Roger Taylor there.

They saved money for all the things they were going to need to do with them. For food, for transport, for clothing, to pay people off if anyone saw something. They had all the bases covered, because they didn't want to be distracted while with their beloved stars.

Now they needed a way for the men not to overpower them, a way to make them stay, to make them have to comply to their wishes. If they stayed long enough, if they realised they couldn't escape then eventually they would forget they were captive, and start enjoying the love nest and their new company. They would love them, even if it was by force.

The key to everything was the darkness. While the musicians were in the dark, the girls had the upper hand. They had the absolute power and no matter how much those men tried to retaliate, they couldn't, because they were completely blind. They were useless to run away – they would run into walls, into locked doors.

While Roger and Brian were in the darkness they didn't know, and couldn't know where they were. This could an automatised prison building with lots of cameras, this could on a floor 20 or 55, this could be some sort of torture chamber. They only could imagine, and touch cold concrete walls. There could be hundreds of guards surrounding them, there could be snipers or any kind of deadly traps awaiting them. They just couldn't know.

While they were blindfolded and tied they couldn't do anything, only speak. They couldn't move freely, they couldn't to any other room, they couldn't clean themselves or feed themselves... They were completely powerless, useless, at their mercy.

And the girls made perfectly sure that they couldn't see, because what was in their eyes weren't common blindfolds. Extra-dark eyepatches were first, to provide a very dense darkness that would the base for everything else. Then there were black elastic bands with wool not to to chafe the skin: those made sure the eyepatches didn't move. And there three consecutive neckerchiefs, perfectly tied around their pretty little heads. They had some sunglasses too, so that they could put them on Roger and it would look like he was just having dinner with them...

The abduction part was more scary, so they looked for someone else to do it. One of Mei's uncle had contacts in bad places and one they followed him to a bar where they found some foreigners that were willing to do what the girls asked, for the right amount of money. Now things hadn't gone exactly their way, but they had half of Queen, and not they could do anything they wanted with them.

They mixed a powerful anesthetic with some water that they gave them before making any introductions. The girls wanted everything to be perfect, and it wouldn't be perfect if there was old sweaty clothing and dried blood getting in the middle of things. So while they were half conscious from the medication, Naoko and Mei undressed them (but left the underwear on, they weren't crossing that line... yet) and bathed the boys, first one and then the other, brushed their long hair, and cleaned any wounds.

It was such a wonderful experience, touching their skin, cleaning them with soap... Men that they had only seen in their dreams and now they could, brush their hair, sponge their neck and arms, breathe in their scent. It was intoxicating, the closeness, the intimacy, the power.

Then they dressed them in the clothes they had bought for them.

A flashy multi colour shirt and jeans for Roger, an all-black ensemble for Brian. They looked awesome and adorable, half asleep with the blindfolds still on.... They put the sunglasses on Roger (he looked perfect) to pretend there was no blindfold, and took them to the main room of the love nest, that had sofas and a champagne bottle ready for their introduction. (They also decided that this was one of the last times they moved them, because moving Brian was a nightmare).

They were sat on a big long couch. Their legs were still tied but their hands were free so that they could have dinner and champagne with the girls. A perfect first night. But something was ruining it.

There were tears flowing down from behind of Brian's blindfold, and Roger woke up to soft sobbing. No, this was wrong. They should be looking like perfect princes, happy to be there. Naoko snapped, put a hand menacing on the guitarist's neck.

“No tears, Brian May. Do you understand?”

Brian nodded.

He was still having trouble remembering what was going on, where the hell could he be, and his head was absolutely killing him. He had the worst headache of his life, he felt dizzy and super nauseous and the world around him was only getting more confusing. He just wanted a bed and some aspirin, he wanted to know what was going on... Wait, hadn't Roger been with him?

“Rog? You... there..?” Brian asked, but it wrong and slurred. His headache was making even talking difficult.

“You ok, Bri?”

“SILENCE”

“Welcome, members of Queen, to the love nest. Here you will learn to love us like we love you. Here you will be who we want you to be, and you will be happy. Here you will enjoy life with us forever.” Naoko said, and Mei smiled behind her.

Yes, she wanted them to love her, to live with her, always.

“I'm Naoko, this is Mei. Now let's toast to this new beginning of your new life, filled with love and understanding and beautiful moments.”

When a glass was offered to Roger (always him first, always him the best), he threw to the floor and spit in the general direction of the hand.

“If you think, for a moment that I will comply to any of your demands.... Let us go this instant or I swear....!”

“Do not be angry, Roger Taylor. We just want you to be happy.”

“Then let us go! I am NOT going to play along to any of your little games.”

“You are not, Roger Taylor? The let me tell you secret. We only wanted you. Only brought the other Queen because you not lonely. But we do not... care about Brian May. If you are nice to us and comply, then perhaps we let Brian May go.”

“Why would I believe you?”

“Because if you try to escape, try to fight us... Then we will have to something we do not want, and hurt him.”

“You wouldn't dare!”

Naoko needed to establish dominance. She hadn't gone through all that trouble just to spend all their time together fighting. No, Roger Taylor had to learn who was in charge here, and sometimes for that, one needed to be a bit rash.

She took a knife from where they had dinner set up and buried it on Brian May's stomach. He screamed. Roger didn't know what had happened but heard the scream.

“Bri! What happened?”

“They stabbed me.... in the stomach... with... with...”

“You monster!”

“We do not want to do this, Roger Taylor. We want to be friends. But if you insist on running away or screaming, trying to fight on what I see, throwing our kind food on the floor. I have no problem. He's not that good a guitarist, anyway and he cost you your first american tour! He's no good.”

“DON'T HURT HIM! LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

“We will, if you behave. Now, take the champagne glass, and toast with me.”

Roger did, but his hand was shaking.

“Mei, you too. The beginning of long, perfect friendship.”

Roger toasted with the girls, feeling terrified. This was so much worse than being taken for money, because they didn't want something as easy as that. They wanted them, him specifically, and they wanted him forever. The police was probably busy looking at criminals, wouldn't even consider these two girls suspects. And while they were playing out their fantasies...

Brian was getting worse, slurring his words more, having more trouble to talk. He probably had a bad head injury and it had already been... what, a day? Two days? Seven hours? It was so difficult to tell in that absolute darkness. Everything was difficult but trying to knock the girls out and try to find the exit was out of the question. They'd stabbed Brian just so Roger knew they were serious, who knew what they would do if he did something like that.

“Smile, Roger Taylor, appreciate your new home.”

Roger smiled. If this meal-introduction-whatever went perfectly all right maybe he would be able to start convincing them of releasing Brian... But perfect was not going to happen.

Brian had lasted as much as he could, but the nausea had become too urgent, too overpowering. Within seconds of Roger's forced smile he threw up on his shirt, and then on the floor. It was mostly water, but it hurt like hell coming out. Everything hurt and now he'd ruined the moment.

Shit.

Roger could hear one of the girls fuming and swearing in Japanese, and knew that they were in trouble.

“Sorry....” Brian mumbled, but didn't seem o placate his captor much.

Roger could practically hear that girl's anger, and he was scared. It had taken them so long to get him to cooperate, so long to get the necessary amount of obedience required and now... Brian, what would happen to him?

“I'll do it, I'm sorry.” Roger said, trying to defuse the girl's anger. He tentatively put his hand before him, trying to find the girl, console her in any way he could...

Lowering the anger, that was the main goal. When Roger first heard those feminine voices he thought he was in luck. He thought he would be able to take them down, take off the blindfold and escape no problem. He thought he wouldn't have to take any orders but somehow would manage to untie himself and get out of there with Brian. But now... This were no ordinary girls, that was for sure.

He didn't know much about the other, but at least one of them was ready to do anything to keep her dream alive, and that anything included violence. Hell, Roger wouldn't be all that surprised if she was ready to kill Brian. So suddenly things were more dangerous, and he had tread carefully, find a new strategy in which he could make friends with this girl so she would eventually untie him to make the dream more real...

But first things first. Now he had to unanger her.

The girl screamed something in Japanese.

(“Take him out of here, clean him, and don't return until you are sure that he will be the guest he should be”) Naoko told Mei, who asked Brian if he could walk and then got him out of there. He could barely stand, and it was painful to walk bu they managed to get him out)

Good. Naoko was now alone with Roger Taylor, as she should have been all along.

“Your friend is getting very sick.”

Roger didn't like where this was going.

“He is.”

“And you can see, I do not like him very much.”

“I get that.”

There was a naughty smile in his captor's lips.

“Maybe you are very very good, and maybe I'm grateful and I release him.”

Roger swallowed. He knew what was coming.

“What do you want me to do?”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Mei was in a dark room, with the badly injured Brian May. She didn't like this- not one bit. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go, not at all. They were supposed to be providing these people with love and a great place to stay, provide them with so many luxuries and affections that in the end they would take off the blindfolds and still Queen would want to stay with them.

And in reality... the reality was much more darker, much more violent and horrifying. As she cleaned the vomit from Brian's shirt, she could see his gash from were he'd been knocked out. It was a bad blow, and the nausea and disorientation meant the he probably needed medical attention, that his head was suffering from it. It was wrong.

Then Mei looked at his other wound: the stab wound on his stomach form when Naoko had needed to “establish dominance”. Mei bandaged it, trying to be as gentle as possible, eliciting some pain sound from the guitarist, whose head lolled from side to side, and who couldn't help a couple more of tears falling from behind the blindfold.

“I do not... care about tears, Brian May. You can cry.”

Mei liked Brian May, and was totally heartbroken that they were doing this to him. Sure, she liked Roger Taylor better, but Brian was also very interesting, so tall and handsome and playing that guitar so beautifully. Some of her favourite part from some of their songs were guitar solos, which were performed by this man. This man who had puke and tears on his face, this man they had injured and stabbed, this poor man that deserved better than just being a means to blackmail their object of desire.

“I am sorry about this, Brian May. I really sorry about this.”

*

Naoko was very much enjoying the change of attitude in Roger Taylor. They were having dinner now, and Roger was being the perfect guest. He complimented the food, laughed at her jokes, told her that he was very happy to be there. And as he was wearing those sunglasses it almost looked like he was there of his own volition, with the blindfold hidden.

It stung a bit, knowing that he was only doing all of this for the sake of his friend, that none of this new niceness was honest or genuine, that they were all lies told for his friend's sake, that he didn't mean anything, that he probably never would. Things were too strained, things had begun too wrong between them and you know, stabbing one of his friends was probably something he couldn't forget, something he couldn't go back from.

But it was okay. If she couldn't have the real thing, then she would just lose herself in this elaborate fantasy. It was simple now that Roger was behaving and doing everything she asked, and with the glasses on and those beautiful clothes they had picked up for him...It was his prince charming and they were having a beautiful, wonderful dinner together.

For three hours Naoko happily ate with Roger Taylor, taking in his beautiful blonde hair, his nice hands, his skinny frame. He was really even more beautiful in person. She kept telling him how happy she was that he was here, and he smiled (at least, tried). He hadn't complained one since she'd stabbed Brian. And kept following her cues and doing as he was told.

It was nearly perfect, almost as if this man was really her boyfriend and they were having a nice evening together, as if they were a regular happy couple. And Roger was doing his best to look as if he was happy to be there, in that dark place, with her. He was trying to find a way to escape while he pretended, while he acted, trying to come up with a decent idea to be able to see again, find Brian and get the hell out. In the meantime he was trying very hard to keep this extra crazy young lady away from Brian – he was injured and wouldn't be able to keep up this whole charade as well as he could.

Roger really hoped that the other girl, who had been much quieter than this psycho he was with, was nicer and was treating Brian decently. What were the chances of both of them being homicidal psychos? But then again, they were friends, and were developing this crazy plan together... They probably thought alike about how to treat them. They could be treated nicely, yes, but they had to obey.

The best way of not being hurt or worse was complying to the things that these girls asked, being the best fake boyfriends that they could. Smile a lot, compliment everything that was complimentable, and simply let themselves be guided and told what to do. The most important thing first was surviving, then trying to figure out a way to get away. So they had to act.

But it wasn't easy, not at all.

Roger knew that the girl that was with him was violent and capable of anything, and he was scared of saying or doing anything wrong making her angry. If he could see he would be able to take her down easily (he wasn't the strongest man but he had a lot of strength in his arms from all the drumming and extra motivation of saving himself), but while he was blind she had the upper hand. And she could decided when he'd been pleasant enough, when he needed to be punished.

Roger had never been much of an actor, it had always been hard for him. Either he didn't put enough strength on his performance or he overdid himself, and ended up being too histrionic, too excessive. He wasn't believable and it was ok when it was just for a video, or a school performance, but now...

It was his and Brian's lives that were at stake, and he couldn't fail or Naoko would happily show him again who was the boss. It was really scary and Roger didn't like it... But she'd said that they would be better off without Brian, and if she wanted to get rid of him, she could...So Roger smiled, Roger bowed and slow danced with this girl, all while trying to get away.

Maybe when they left him to sleep, Roger would be able to figure out a way to take off his blindfold – if he was bale to see everything everything else would be much easier. He would be able to sneak up on this girl and tie her up, take Brian and get away, back to freedom. Yes, when he went to sleep (she had to sleep too, didn't she?) he would be able to put his ideas in motion, try to upset without upsetting his captor.

But all his plans fell apart when Naoko decided to sleep embraced to him. Whenever his hand got anywhere near his blindfold, she stopped him. And then he fell asleep, despite himself, not knowing that she'd drugged his tea, so that she could sleep without him figuring out a way to get out. “You're not going anywhere, Roger Taylor” Naoko thought. “You're mine now.”

*

In another room, Mei was having a hard time cleaning Brian's tears as more and more kept coming down the blindfold. Apart of how impractical and uncomfortable it was, it was making her feel really bad. This was going all kinds of wrong, and she was not at all prepared or equipped to deal with it. She had no medical knowledge and there were added complications to this man's head injury.

She should probably be feeding him something, but was afraid that he would throw p again while Naoko was present, and get punished again. He really couldn't put up with more abuse, he was in a terrible condition already. If her friend got angry and decided to hurt him again...

“I am sorry, Brian May.”

Through the haze of his pounding headache, Brian thought of something he could do, something that maybe could help. If he could get out... he would be able to get something for his head, and get the police involved so that Roger would be safe too. He would tell them everything he knew, and then they would both be safe. Safe, finally. But first, he had to get to her.

“Mei, what is.... What is your favourite Queen song?”

The girl drew a small smile. She loved talking about music, especially Queen.

“I like Now I'm here.”

Brian smiled too, with what little strength he had left. He could use this.

“I wrote that song, did you know? _Yes, you made me live again_.” He sang and Mei was amazed at how nice his voice was, even in this messed situation.

“It is beautiful song.”

“Thank you. I am happy.... that you like it. But you know I won't be able to write anything else, to play anything else if you don't let me out, right?”

“But, Naoko...”

“Forget her, please. My... my head hurts so much, I want to throw up again, please, Mei...”

“No, we risked much. Too late now.”

“ _Yes, you made me live again_... Make me live again. I know you don't want to be doing this, I know... you don't want be hurting me. But you are. Help me.”

“I should not....”

“My head is killing me, Mei. Help me. Make me... live again.”

Mei was...considering it. The truth was that she wasn't happy with how any of this had turned out, especially what concerned the guitarist. She was worried about what could happened to him the next time he was with Naoko, and didn't want his death on her conscience. And she had a chance to do something for him, help him, make this right.

Another elusive tear went down Brian May's pale cheek.

“My head...please.”

She would. She would help this man and she would stop hating herself for what she was doing. She made sure that Naoko was sleeping and, trying to make the least noise possible, got out of the building with Brian in tow. It wasn't easy, as he was a very big, very tall man and was having a very hard time to walk straight, to keep himself up and walking properly, but they managed to get out without awaking anyone.

Brian passed out four blocks from the love nest. Mei left him near the road, hoping he'd be found soon and planted a small kiss on his forehead. Then she ran, trying to get away from that whole mess, trying to go back to her family and forget what she'd done.

It was the middle of the night and Roger was drugged and alone with a psychopath.

Brian was alone in the dead of night, unconscious and in the middle of nowhere.

Half of Queen remained in very present and very serious danger.

 


	4. Chapter 4

It was noon when Freddie received a call that he had been waiting for several days now.

“Mr. Mercury? This is Tokyo General Hospital. One of your companions was found. There was no docu....mentation, but we believe it's Mr. May.” A Japanese man said, clearly rehearsed.

“Oh, thank god! John, they found Brian! How is he? Is he ok? Where was all that blood coming from, was it his? Is he injured? Did he tell you anything about where Roger is? You know what, why don't you put him on the phone, I really want to hear his voice.”

“It is not possible. Mr May is....” there was a pause, while the man asked for words. “not conscious.”

“Oh, god, how bad is it? Probably quite bad, if he's unconscious. Shit, give me the details of the hospital, we'll be there in no time.”

John looked at him with an inquisitive look.

“Brian's in the hospital, unconscious. We have to get there.”

A million question ran through Freddie's head. Why was Brian alone when he was found? Could it be that different sets of criminals took them? Where was Roger? Would he be similarly injured too, unconscious in the hands of some horrible people? It was bad, and the fact that Brian was passed out and unable to talk didn't bode well for anyone.

The fact that there was no ransom demand had puzzled everyone – they had all assumed that they had been kidnapped, and had waited, uselessly, for a phone call asking for an exorbitant amount of money (that they were absolutely going to pay, of course, the police was hesitant but Freddie didn't give them any options) and tried to find who may have done this. And then there was no call and no clues that went with it.

The investigation pointed to two American men as the men in the masks, two men that were already back in America. When they called the American police asking them to send them back for interrogation, the American refused to cooperate, saying they didn't have enough evidence, so the Chief of Tokyo police had organised and sent a team of his officers to track down and interrogate those men. Still, between the flight and trying to track them down (they were probably using false identities, as they were nowhere to be found) time was passing, and they didn't seem to be much closer to finding out who had Roger and Brian.

But now they had found Brian, and he was receiving medical care. That was good, probably better that whatever situation he was previously in. When they arrived to the hospital, there was an Australian doctor there too, who had been called because he knew good English and could explain things better. Freddie and John were relieved to be able to talk with someone that would understand them.

He told them some more details, as they were hoping.

“Your friend was found on a road, this morning by some passers-by. He was unconscious and had a head injury. We did some test to rule out a more serious head injury that would require surgery, but only found swelling – which is being controlled by medication. So far, he seemed to be responding well to treatment, but we won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up.”

“So you're saying, he's never woken up since you found him?” John asked, in a small voice.

“Yes, that is the main cause for concern. An injury like his doesn't justify such a long period of unconsciousness.”

“So...”

“All we can do now is wait, and hope for the best.”

And so they waited, worried, troubled, concerned.

They waited.

 

*

Roger was tired of waiting for this girl to tell him where his friend was. He was bored and frustrated with playing nice and being this perfect (but blind) fantasy boyfriend. On the last few hours he had slow danced, he'd been fed chocolates, he had more toasts with champagne, and he had even sang to this girl that was keeping him captive. Surely it was enough to let him do something he wanted – he needed, even. He deserved some answers.

“Naoko, love, can I talk to Brian now? It's been a long time, and I just want to know that he's okay.”

“No. He is sleeping.”

“Again?”

“Yes. I will tell Mei to bring him when he wakes up. Now eat dinner, Roger Taylor. Especially made for you.”

Roger was worried. If Brian was really sleeping that much it could mean that his head injury had gotten worse, and he hadn't been in great shape to begin with. If he was getting that bad he really needed medical attention, and it was clear that these girls were not going to let him go, when he was so good to blackmail Roger. There could be another explanation as to why he couldn't see Brian, why he was missing suddenly... an explanation that made Roger shiver.

They had killed him. Naoko had said that she didn't care for Brian, and that she would hurt him (or worse) if he was too much trouble. The other girl was also not being heard because she was getting rid of the body, getting rid of the evidence. Cleaning the blood. It was a horrifying thought, but it could be true. These girls had already hired some men to kidnap them, drugged them, stabbed one of them. Maybe things could have got too far at some point and they'd done something too.. severe.

But maybe it wasn't something so horrible. Perhaps this other girl had taken a shine to Brian and was making the same things to him as Naoko was doing to him, making him dance, and eat and telling him that if he didn't comply they would hurt Roger. And Brian would comply, and ask about his friend, and Mei would tell him that he was sleeping.

This couldn't go on any longer, Roger decided. It was clear that no heroic rescuers were going to appear and get them in the short-term future, and he needed to escape this prison of boyfriend niceness that was not leading him anywhere, get out to someplace where he could get help and get Brian to some doctors. Maybe himself too, just in case. Naoko had looked after him pretty well, but he was afraid of how much this prolonged darkness could affect him.

And his head. He was going to have nightmares about this long after he'd left Japan. He was going to be afraid to close his eyes, afraid that when he opened them there would only be darkness, that he wouldn't be able to see. He missed the light, missed seeing the places. He was getting better at moving around just by touching, getting more familiar with the living room of the love nest, but still... It was hard. And he was tired.

But he had an strategy. The next day, he would take a knife from the dinner table and only pretend to drink, throwing the water out on the plant next to his sitting place, so he wouldn't be drugged. And then, when he was pretending to be asleep, he would use the knife to take his blindfold off. And from there everything would be easier. Sure, they could use this excuse to hurt Brian... But he could be fast enough to get before they did anything bad to him, if he could see again.

(And yes, he had to think about the fact that Brian may already be dead, as much as it hurt)

So he did. He took a knife from the dinner table....And the world went blurry, even if he hadn't drunk anything. Was she drugging the food too now?

When he woke up, he wasn't just blindfolded, but cuffed too, and his legs had also been tied with what felt like ropes. Shit. He'd even been gagged.

“Bad Roger Taylor. Hiding a knife in jeans? Trying to avoid to avoid Naoko's sleepy touch? Very bad. Now how can I take you to your friend, when you been so bad. Now I have to punish you. So you won't do it again.”

Roger could hear metal clanking, but couldn't see what Naoko was preparing. It was one of the most horrible things, not knowing. Being always in the dark. Unaware of what new hell was coming his way.

 

*

Freddie and John were also being kept in the dark, about the developments in the investigation. This is police business, we cannot be informing every person that asks, yadda yadda yadda. Freddie had gone back to the hotel and was dealing with a lot of calls, from relatives, from managers, from press... John was just waiting for some changes in Brian's condition, but nothing was happening.

“You've slept long enough, Brian. Don't you think it's time to wake up?”

Only a short minutes later there was some change.... But the one the one John had been hoping for. The machines monitoring Brian's condition started screaming and John was ushered out. The day suddenly grew darker...

And John could only watch.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Roger knew that he had to try anything and everything, every trick on his bag to get away from this psycho. It was fairly clear that Brian and the other girl were gone, maybe dead, maybe simply out of sight, but they were gone. Naoko couldn't hurt him anymore by hurting Brian because he was lost. And even though he was drugged up to his eyeballs, Roger knew that the time had come to stop the nonsense and do something.

This was the moment he would break free or die, but he would put an end to this nightmare, which had been going on for too long. Even with his abilities diminished by the blindfold and the drugs, Roger was a strong guy, with very strong arms from all that drumming, and he could take down anything he wanted. The fact that this little girl had probably killed one of his best and oldest friends gave him the motivation needed to become as vicious and decisive as he'd needed to be.

There would be no holding back now.

He launched himself at where he knew that Naoko was (it wasn't true, at least for him that being blind heightened you other senses, but he'd always had a good ear, and had learnt to trust what he'd heard even more now that he couldn't see), and just hoped that his own brute strength would be enough to at least undo some of the ties, and make Naoko drop whatever she was holding. It was really difficult with all those ties, being cuffed to his chair... But his anger and determination were bigger than that, stronger.

Naoko said something in Japanese, voicing her surprise, and it gave Roger an even more accurate picture of where she was. He went there with all his might and headbutted her, since his forehead was the only part he had free. It was enough to kick her out, and Roger wasn't sure about what part of her he hit, but it was enough to make her drop whatever she was holding and start loosening up the ties on his legs, that came undone completely with a few more swift movements.

“BAD ROGER TAYLOR!”

Naoko had picked up something from the floor, possibly a knife, but Roger didn't care anymore. He knew that she wouldn't kill him – he was part of her fantasy, she needed him to keep living it. And he didn't mind getting hurt, it was better that just continuing to be sat there, not doing anything. No. He had to get out, he had to avenge Brian, he had to make this girl understand what she'd been doing to him. No more complacency, no more obedience.

With one his now free girls he kicked the air, with all the strength he could muster, and although he didn't get anywhere at first, it made Naoko laugh, giving him again, a clear picture of what her exact location was. Now it was the end, now she would learn what it was to be defeated, once and for all. Roger thought of all the shit he'd been through, the dancing, the the drugging, strangers touching him and cleaning him while he was asleep, Brian's faint voice saying that his head hurt... And went for it.

With the most brutal most motivated strength he could manage, he managed to hit Naoko, and hit her again, until he got her against a wall and was able to knock her out. He heard her falling on the floor and smiled, feeling triumphant. He couldn't feel bad for her, not after she'd kidnap him and his friend and kept them for days, not after all the drugging and stabbing, not after she had probably killed Brian and maybe her friend too. This was strictly self defense, and she'd brought it on herself.

While this was a step in the right direction, there were still many steps to be taken to be finally free. And it was going to be really complicated. How could he get outside, find help? He could hardly scream through the gag, and his hands were cuffed to the chair, making it impossible for him to get the blindfold off. He tried with gravity, but the damn thing was too tight. He could walk though, even it was complicated with the chair, since his legs were free now.

Blindly, painfully, slowly and crashing into every wall, still in the blackest darkness, somehow Roger made his way out of the room. Since it used to be a factory, most doors didn't have locks, and he made his way through... somewhere. But still didn't know where the exit was or where he was or he was supposed to go to get out. He had no way of orienting himself and it was... frustrating, dangerous, bad. Roger was worried that Naoko would wake up and resume her torture session, now more pissed than ever. Baddd.

He kept walking and walking, trying to get as far as possible from the room he'd been kept in, still blind, still cuffed to a chair, still not knowing where he was and occasionally bumping against walls. He had to get away, he had to find help, he needed for this to be over, and not to continue. If Naoko woke up now and drugged him again... Maybe she would never have him not drugged again, and all of that drugging could cause irreversible damage. Maybe she would him too much to make him complacent and he would die from an overdose.

No. He had to get out.

But it was hard. He hated the darkness and he he hated to be so powerless to stop it. He'd made a big step towards freedom, but now felt stuck. Maybe he would forever be stuck in that love nest prison and he would never get out. He would never see the sun again, never find find out what had happened to Brian, would never play drums again.

And then there was some noise, steps. Roger dreaded that it was his captor who'd woken up, but the steps were of more than one person. The steps were coming towards him, and someone approached and took off his cuffs and blindfold. It was a stern looking Japanese policeman, but in that moment Roger felt he was the most beautiful sight on Earth.

He could see, again. No more darkness.

 

*

 

Mei had confessed.

Since her parents hadn't been expecting her yet and when she arrived they were both out, she went to every hospital to look for Brian May. She (and Naoko) had been responsible for his injuries, and even if she had released him she still felt very guilty. So she went to the hospitals to make sure that he was okay. But Brian May was not okay.

From what she'd gathered (mostly spying on the other's conversations) Brian May had never woken up and after a while he got much worse, had stopped breathing, and the doctors didn't know what was causing it, so they couldn't fix him. Mei watched in horror as her beloved Freddie Mercury and John Deacon looked devastated and were nearly in tears because they felt they were about to lose one of their best friends. She had done this. She could very well cost that poor man his life.

It had to end. She went to the doctors and told them about the injuries, what had caused them, other symptoms like the disorientation, the headache, all the times he threw up. She also mentioned the drug they'd been giving them, because any little thing could be the cause of Brian's turn for the worse. It actually was the drug.

There had been some interactions with the medication for the swelling in his head, and when they upped the dose to try and get him to wake up, all hell broke loose. But when they were told everything made sense, and they were able to take meds and get Brian out of that black abyss.

Mei, now in tears because she'd almost caused a person to die of all things, (and just any person, a member of Queen!) also told them about the love nest, about Naoko, and told them to hurry, because she could have done anything with Roger Taylor. Fortunately, they were able to find him relatively whole and he was reunited with his bandmates (there was a big long hug and maybe some tears of joy) and he was.... Well, he was so happy to be out of that hole. To be able to see.

It would leave scars, he knew, this whole ordeal. Every time it was too dark out, every time someone turned off the light or put their hands on his eyes to surprise him, he would feel that he was there. He was going to leave the windows open at night. He couldn't deal with the darkness, or he would hear her voice, velvety asking him to do this or that, telling him that she was going to hurt his friend. It was going to have consequences, not so much physically, but mentally. He'd been captive for nearly a week, and it had taken its toll. At least he could get better, nothing irreversible had happened.

Brian was getting better too, little by little. Roger had been so sure that he was dead....Seeing him there on the hospital bed, knowing he wasn't gone, felt almost like a miracle. After all those days of darkness, they were finally back together, on the way to being whole. The light may be bluish and too brght (hospital light is always strange) but it was light nevertheless, it meant that they were alive, and that they were free.

When Brian woke up, he was surprised that he could, that the outside world hadn't ceased to exist, that he wasn't blind anymore. There were white walls and machines, and... his bandmates around him. Roger was bandaged up and looked really tired, but he was there, they hadn't killed him, they hadn't hurt him too badly. Brian nearly stopped breathing again, overcome by emotion.

There was a tentative hand coming the drummer's way. Roger held it in his, looking at his friend in the eye, never letting go.

“Roger...” Brian said, his voice hoarse and broken “... I see you.”

And all the rest of things were not important, because they could see. Things would be all right because they could see.

“I see you too, Brian. I see you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you liked!


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